Fitzroy Gardens

You’ve reached the Treasury Gardens entrance, with a view over Fitzroy Gardens. The latter are Melbourne’s best-known green space and span almost 26 hectares. They’re a prime example of Victorian-era landscape design in Australia. Whether you’re just peeking in or planning a full day of exploration, there’s plenty to discover. One example is the so-called “scarred tree”, a sight not to be missed. Aboriginal people removed the bark of this tree to build various objects such as canoes, tools, traps, shields, cribs and so on. It was non-indigenous Australians who named these trees. The plaque asks visitors to respect this site which holds great importance for the Wurundjeri people, the traditional custodians of the land. Here, you’ll also find an artificial lake, a greenhouse, a tourist information center, a café, a small temple, a Tudor village and a replica of James Cook’s cottage. A word about the last two which may come as a surprise to visitors. During World War II, Melbourne sent a great deal of food to England. As a big thank you, Edgar Wilson, a pensioner with a passion for creating miniature villages, decided to donate one to Melbourne. Inaugurated in 1948, this complete little village transports you back in time to Kent, during the Tudor period of English history. James Cook’s cottage too was brought over from England. It was built by his parents in 1755 and brought to Melbourne in 1934. Believe it or not, the cottage was dismantled brick by brick and rebuilt on the other side of the world. Of course, for Australians, James Cook is a big deal! After all, he was the first European to set foot on the east coast of Australia, and the first to sail to New Zealand! He traveled thousands of kilometers across what were then largely unexplored regions of the world, and mapped the lands in the Pacific Ocean, from New Zealand all the way to Hawaii, in greater detail than ever before! As was the case with all explorers of the New World, his “role as facilitator of colonialism” and the violent nature of his encounters with local populations have been the subject of much controversy. Regardless, he was a true pioneer in his field, and his work has left an indelible mark on the world of science and geography; you’ll see monuments to his memory all over the world. Today, you can visit the Cook family cottage, now an eco-museum with friendly volunteer guides dressed in period garb!